The present invention relates to apparatus for simultaneously, sawing and milling workpieces from relatively large castings and to a method for simultaneously sawing and milling such castings.
Relatively large workpieces such as engine blocks, cylinder heads, cam carriers, transmission housings and the like are routinely manufactured from castings, i.e. aluminum, cast iron, or other suitable materials. Frequently risers or excess materials are formed in the casting process which must be removed by sawing or cutting before a final, finished surface can be machined on the cut surface. The finished surface is frequently adapted to be secured to another member in sealing engagement and hence the surface must be accurately formed with a fine, final finish. It has been the practice to machine such castings by a series of steps. First a rough saw cut is made to remove most of the excess material formed by the riser of cast material or the like. Next a semi-finished surface is formed by milling the rough saw cut surface. A final, finished surface is then formed by milling the semi-finished surface. It can be seen that this requires a number of separate machining steps and often also requires transfer steps from a sawing or cutting station to the milling station. In the present invention a unique apparatus and method are provided by which a finished machined surface can be provided with a single cut. In this regard a unique saw mill and related apparatus is utilized such that the excess riser material is removed and a finished machined surface provided in a single operation.
Thus it is an object of the present invention to provide a unique apparatus for providing a finished surface on a cast workpiece in a single operation.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a unique method for machining a finished surface on a cast workpiece in a single operation .